


One Little Difference

by TheWaterIsASham



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Dave lives, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Minor Vanya/Leonard, Multi, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Patch lives, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2019-11-12 02:56:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18002483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWaterIsASham/pseuds/TheWaterIsASham
Summary: Dave doesn't get shot.  Instead he comes back with Klaus to a future that is better, but far from perfect.  It's surprising how little can be enough.Featuring sibling bonding, awkward dates and the minimum amount of angst required to write a fic with the Hargreeves in it.





	1. The Academy, Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm bad at tags so if I left something out please comment so I can add it.

Gloria opened the tube and looked the order. She then took it to her desk, took out the stamp only she knew about, used it and sent the letter on its way. 

* * *

 

“My tour’s up.  Almost forgot that was a thing that happened.” Dave looked up from the piece of paper to the man beside him.

“What are you gonna do then?” Klaus asked, leaning over Dave’s shoulder.  They had never told anyone about their relationship, but after so long Klaus figured everyone had guessed and not killed them and thus PDA was okay.

“Dunno, It’s not like I can go home and I doubt anywhere else is going to that much better. Might re-up, keep some other kid out of this hell hole.” 

“Oh no no no, that is a very bad idea and I have one that is much better.” Klaus got up and ran to his bunk. He grabbed his old jacket and put it on,  and then pulled the briefcase out from under his bed and brought it over.

“What’s that, some sort of bag of cash?”

“That was my initial interpretation as well, but it’s much better. A time travel device. It got me here, so maybe, just maybe it can get us back.” 

“Well I guess it’s worth a shot then. Maybe I can meet those siblings you keep talking about.” Klaus smiled at him and opened the briefcase.  They disappeared in a flash of blue light, leaving their squadmates with one more reason to drink.

 

Time traveling was a bitch, so it took Klaus a second to reopen his eyes after the flash.  He had his jacket, good. He was back on the same bus, if the smell was any indication, and Dave was there, so all was right except for the fact that it was bright out and pretty much everything hurt. “We lost the war by the way. Real bad. Didn’t feel right to say so until now.”  

Dave looked at Klaus, and then to the man across from them. “What day is it?” he asked

“March 12th 2019, why do you ask?”  The man responded.

“Long story.” Dave turned back to Klaus. “Are we going anywhere in particular?”

“Yeah, next stop is ours” Klaus said, wincing with pain. They got up and left the bus significantly more confused than before. Dave checked that no one was watching and took Klaus’ hand. Klaus smiled at him then noticed the briefcase was sparking. “Oh Shit!” he exclaimed as he tossed it away onto blank pavement. It exploded.  “Well Fuck, hope that wasn’t important.” He shrugged and led Dave back to the academy. 

 

* * *

 

 

“Nice Tattoo, when’d you get it?” Five asked his brother. He didn’t know how Klaus had managed to time travel but he did look forward to being smug about the side effects. 

“Well in fact it is a long story that I would happily tell you in extraordinary detail If you simply paid me the twenty bucks you still owe me.”

“I don’t care that much. Give me the short version.”

“That will be another twenty dollars then.” Five glared at him. “You can’t ask an artist to restrict his art for free.”

“Bullshit isn’t an art. Besides I was going to help you if you were planning to take it seriously.”

“Sorry I’m already booked solid with nonsense. I should have an opening for being serious in...” Klaus mimed looking at a calendar. “Two months... Should I pencil you in?”

“Considering that the apocalypse is happening in less than a week, I will have to pass.”

The door to the bathroom opened, interpreting Klaus and Five’s Banter. Dave walked out with his clothes on and holding a towel over his shoulder. “God it feels so good to have an actual bath after years of camp showers.” 

Five didn’t turn around. “Who the fuck is that.”

“Dave, this is my brother five, Five, this is my boyfriend Dave” Klaus responded, casually gesturing to both parties. 

“Please tell me he’s not related to the time travel.”  Five asked, facepalming.

“I wouldn’t lie to one of my top four brothers. Unless it was Luther. Or Diego. Or Ben, or you honestly, but I did get Dave through the time travel.”

“I can not even begin to tell you how many rules this is breaking.” Five looked up at his brother. “Listen just give me the briefcase so I can take him” He gestured vaguely in Dave direction. “Back before THE ENTIRE COMMISSION COMES AFTER YOU” 

“No can do bro. Thing exploded as soon as we got back. Isn’t that what they are supposed to do?”

“No... The Highly Advanced Time Travel Technology...Does Not....Explode Upon Usage.” Five said slowly, with barely restrained rage. “WHAT. THE. HELL. DID. YOU. DO.”

 

“I heard shouting, what's going on?” Diego came quickly up the stairs and stopped in front of the group. “Who the fuck is that?” he pointed at Dave.

Klaus sighed. “Dave this is my brother Diego. Diego this is my boyfriend Dave.” 

“Boyfriend?!! When the hell did that happen?” he turned to Dave “Listen I don’t know jack shit about you but if you even THINK you can take advantage of my brother or treat him like shit then you will answer to me and that answer had better be goddamn convincing.” He brandished a knife for dramatic effect.

Klaus burst out laughing. 

“ That is...That is rich coming from you...” he got out between peels of laughter. “Treat me like shit? You mean like everyone else I know? Oh poor dear old Number 4 may get taken advantage of, how would he ever deal with that?” Klaus suddenly got serious. “Dave has treated me better in the last year than any of you have over a lifetime. And yes Ben that includes you so stop looking like that. Also you know what, we were just leaving.”  He grabbed Dave’s hand and let him away from the bedrooms. 

 

Diego looked at Five. Five looked at Diego. “We’re following them right?” 

“Obviously.”

 

Dave walked in silence before looking back. “You know they’re following us right?”

Klaus didn’t look back. “Dad wasn’t really big on boundaries.”

 


	2. Vanya's Apartment, Day 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, 2 chapters in 2 days. Do not grow to expect this. Also I wrote this before any of your wonderful feedback, so that will have to get worked in later.

There was a small spring in Vanya’s step as she walked home from the audition. Three years of trying and apparently all it took her was going off her meds for a day for her dreams to come true. She couldn’t wait to tell Leonard, to tell everyone... maybe things could finally get better. She looked around at the city that seemed both comfortably familiar and wonderfully knew and... wait was that Diego’s car? And Diego? And Five sitting with him behind a bush. She guessed they were perfectly concealed to the park they were facing but she could easily clock them from the road.  She scanned the area for threats, but nothing but her brothers seemed amiss. She walked up to them. “What are you two doing?”

“JESUS CHRIST VANYA don’t scare me like that.” Diego turned back to face her full of indignation. 

“Sorry... I just saw you from the road” she gestured.

Diego sighed and calmed down. “Klaus appeared with a new boyfriend this morning . We’re watching them to make sure nothing happens.”

“There is also the matter of the time traveling assassins” Five added, but neither of his siblings were listening. 

“Does no one in this family trust other people’s romantic decisions?” Vanya huffed.

“It’s Klaus.” Diego turned back to face the park.

“Fair. Is there anything I can do to help?” Vanya said. Diego turned back to her, angry retort already on his lips when a flash of movement caught his eye. 

“Yeah you can drive. Have the car ready where we need it” He tossed Vanya his keys as he sprung into action.

* * *

 

Vanya got out of the car as Diego threw one last knife at the retreating Cha-Cha.  Nobody seemed heavily injured but Klaus was curled up on the ground, whimpering and murmuring. 

“Shit shit shit fuck fuck baby are you with me? Can you hear me? Fuck do you guys have a protocol for this?” Dave said, kneeling beside his boyfriend.

“ A protocol? I have no idea what this is” Diego responded, clearly distressed at what was going on. 

Dave looked incredulously up at him, and the back at Klaus. “Well unless anyone has something intoxicating we need to get him away from any killers or corpses and hope for the best. FUCK.”  Both Diego and Five took a large step backward at the word killers, leaving Vanya the closest.

“ I mean I haven’t ...killed anyone.... And I don’t think anyone has died in my apartment.” She responded awkwardly. 

“I guess that's good. You’re another Hargreeves right? I’m Dave.” He hoisted Klaus up and supported his weight on one shoulder. Klaus leaned into him but otherwise didn’t respond. 

“Yeah, I’m Vanya. Nice to meet you?” She ran to open the door to the backseat. Dave maneuvered Klaus into the car and sat down beside him.  Diego got in the front seat, fixing Dave with a glare as if this was somehow his fault. 

“I don’t have time for this.” Five said as he teleported away.

Vanya got back in the front seat.  “My apartment isn’t far, I was on my way there actually.” she said as she started driving, eyes constantly panning back to the rear seat. The car ride was mostly silent except for the whimpers and occasional muttered phrases from Klaus.  He buried his head in Dave’s chest while Dave sympathetically rubbed his shoulder. 

It thankfully took barely 5 minutes to get back to Vanya’s apartment.  Diego and Vanya helped Dave maneuver Klaus up the stairs and onto Vanya’s couch.

“What do I do now?” She asked.

“Well drugs and alcohol are the quickest way.” Dave looked at both Vanya and Diego’s disapproving looks. “Otherwise it’s kinda a crap shoot. Ben can usually bring him back to reality in a bit so I guess the best thing you can do is distract him.” He kneeled down and took Klaus’s hand in his “I’m gonna head out know baby, too many confirmed kills to stay when your like this if I don't have too. Your sister’s gonna take good care of you and I’ll see you back at the academy. I love you.” He squeezed Klaus’s hand. Klaus squeezed back. Dave let go, got up and turned to Diego. “Can you give me a ride back? I don’t exactly have cash or somewhere else to stay in this decade.”

Diego sighed and rolled his eyes, but gestured for Dave to follow him. Dave did so and Vanya was left alone with Klaus in her apartment. She honestly wasn’t sure what to do. Klaus looked... bad. Her therapist had briefly brought up the idea of PTSD with her, especially regarding that room downstairs, but this seemed much worse. Not having a better idea, she raised her violin and began to play.

About two minutes into the piece Klaus shot up. He blearily looked around the apartment and then over to Vanya. “How long was I... where am I...what's that music?”.

Vanya put down her violin. “The Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns. It seemed appropriate. You went down and Dave thought it would be best to bring you somewhere calmer. Hence my apartment.” Vanya sat down in one of the chairs facing the couch. “Can I ask... what happened? It’s like you weren’t even here.”

Klaus steadied himself.  “Well you see dear sister I am what scientists call” he paused dramatically “fucked up, so every once and a while when I get too sober and the dead start surrounding me my brain decides that I am not where I actually am but instead in a particularly nasty part of Vietnam or the mausoleum dad used to lock me in as a kid. Or both. But thankfully there is an easy chemical solution to that problem so if you would be so kind as to get me a drink I can be on my merry way.” He got up and began to look through Vanya’s kitchen.

“Dad used to lock me up too... there was a soundproof room in the basement... I still don’t know why.” Vanya said. Klaus returned with a bottle of rum and two shot glasses.

“That fucking sucks. We already have enough shit to be scared of and he adds  claustrophobia to the list. Real A+ parenting” He filled both glasses and passed one to Vanya. “To child abuse?” he raised his glass.

“To child abuse.” Vanya responded, clinking her glass against Klaus’s. They both downed the shot and were ready to take another when there was a knock at the door.  

Vanya opened the door and Allison let herself in. “I tried to come by earlier but you weren’t here. I did some research and.... Why is Klaus here?”

“Well you see it all started in 1968...” Klaus started, putting down the bottle of rum. 

“Skip to the part 10 minutes before you came here” Allison interrupted.

“Your gonna miss a lot of context.” Klaus shrugged. Allison raised an eyebrow. “I got fucked up and needed a safe place to cool down.”

“Are you high right now?!” Allison asked, the judgement clear in her voice.

“NO!” Klaus responded quickly. “I’m...” he looked down at the bottle of rum “ Far more sober than usual.”

“We were reminiscing...” Vanya said, trying to break the tension “Do you want a drink? I also have coffee and tea... and I think there might be some ginger ale in the fridge but I don’t know how old it is.” 

Allison sat down in the other chair. “Water is fine thanks.” She gave Klaus a Look. He ignored her and took another shot.  Vanya came back with 2 glasses of water, giving one to Allison and holding on to the other. Allison turned to her “Anyway as I was saying, I did some research on Leonard at the library.”

“Why would you do that?” Vanya asked. 

“It’s what people do these day. If you look me up there are hundreds of results, but Leonard had two. A photo and a name in the phonebook” Allison answered. 

“Well maybe that’s because you’re a famous actress and he’s just a normal guy! Why can’t you just let me be happy!”  Vanya stood up as her voice rose slightly.

“Whoa Whoa there is no need for anyone to shout.” Klaus stood up and positioned himself between the two sisters. “Clearly this is a whole thing that both of you probably care to much to not be biased about, but as I am older and wiser then you two I can clearly provide a better solution.” He sat back down and indicated he was listening intently.

“We were born on the same day.” Allison deadpanned.

“Should of listened to my whole Vietnam story” Klaus retorted. He looked at Allison expectantly. 

Allison looked at Vanya, then back at Klaus. She paused a moment and rolled her eyes. “ Vanya has a new boyfriend and he’s been giving off tons of red flags. They’ve only known each other a couple of days, but I caught him sneaking around her apartment and that just doesn’t sit right with me. I’m just trying to make sure she doesn’t get hurt.” 

Klaus turned to Vanya. “Sure I haven’t known Leonard very long but he makes me feel happy, and he makes me feel special and I don’t want to give that up! Just because Allison is feeling paranoid doesn't make him a bad guy and he had valid reasons for everything he’s done. Vanya paused for a moment. "Andhonestly why do you get to play the good sibling now that's it's convenient for you and only causes me problems instead of I don’t know, any other time during our childhood or adult lives?”

The tension lay thick in the air.  There was a moment of silence, then Klaus adopted an over exaggerated  thinking position and let out a loud “HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM”. Both sisters turned to look at him. “Well there are valid points on both sides, Allison is right that men are scum and Vanya is right that we love them anyway. Also Allison is right that Vanya’s boyfriend has more red flags than a soviet parade and Vanya is right that Allison is bitter and paranoid.” He responded to their offended looks with a shit eating grin.  “At this point we’re only seeing one solution.” 

“What is it?” Allison asked after an exasperatingly long pause. 

“Double Date.” Klaus looked at both his sisters and got off the couch with a flourish. “No really. That way I can meet Leonard and Vanya can meet Dave and we can see if anything is amiss. Besides, who better than me to recognize an asshole? I probably have the most experience with them.” He walked around the room as he talked, occasionally making meaningless gestures. “Besides if he can deal with me then he can probably deal with the rest of us, and it seems we’ve decided to be part of each others lives again so that will be a plus. Also Vanya can you pay? I don’t exactly have a lot of cash flow coming in right now.” 

Allison and Vanya both looked incredulously at Klaus while he proposed the idea. “That... actually seems like a good idea?” Allison said, not believing her own words.  “Also who’s Dave?”

“Yet another perk of the long story Allison. What do you say Vanya?” Klaus responded.

“I can’t pay for both of you. And I’ll have to ask Leonard.”

Allison took out her checkbook and quickly scribbled a check. “It’s not like I’m using most of this anyway.” She moved to hand the check to Klaus, then realized what a bad decision that was and handed it to Vanya instead. “Tell me if you need more to cover damages.”

“I guess I’ll call Leonard then...” Vanya said, still not entirely sure of the plan.  She went over to the phone and punched in the number she had somehow memorized faster than the academy’s.  “Hey Leonard, sorry is this a bad time?... Force of habit I guess, are you doing anything tonight... Then can we go out for dinner together? I was thinking that french place... There’s a condition though, you’ll probably think it’s stupid... well if you say so. Want to meet at the restaurant around 7?... See you then, thanks.”  Vanya hung up the phone.

“Did you tell him it was a double date?” Klaus asked. 

“He told me not to.” Vanya shrugged. 

 

“This is certainly going to be interesting.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't write fight scenes. basically cha cha was heading to the library and thought Klaus was alone, so shit went down. That's all you are gonna get on that front.


	3. The Double Date, day 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed but the chapter titles are just where and when the chapter mainly takes place. I always use them to remember where I left of reading so figured this was best for that. Also tags for this chapter have been added

 

The first thing that was clear to Leonard  after arriving at the restaurant was that Vanya looked nice. She had pulled her hair back and put on a nicer shirt with a jacket and fitted pants.  The second thing was that he should of asked what the condition was, because The Seance was standing next to his sister, wearing a ridiculous floral shirt and lace up pants and holding hands with some blond guy.

“Where have you beeeen. I’ve been waiting for ages and I’m staaaaarrrrving”  The Seance asked. 

“I mean we were also late.” said the blonde guy. The seance shushed him.

“Um Klaus this is Leonard, and Leonard this is my brother Klaus and his boyfriend Dave.” Vanya introduced, awkwardly gesturing.  Klaus did an elaborate bow. Dave waved. 

“Lets eat. I am far too hungry and far too sober to talk out here.” Klaus led the group into the restaurant. “Reservation for Hargreeves, sorry we’re late.” He said, batting his eyelashes at the  maître d′ . She looked like she would rather be talking to a rabid coyote than him, but still led them to a table in the back of restaurant. They sat so Klaus was facing Leonard and Dave was facing Vanya, but Klaus immediately pulled his chair closer to Dave’s and began looking at the menu over his shoulder. 

“Is this the Ritz? Who charges 12 dollars for a sandwich?” Dave asked, gesturing angrily to the menu.

“Inflation darling, besides Allison is picking up the check” Klaus responded, head resting on Dave’s shoulder. His chair creaked from the the tilt.

Vanya piped up “This is actually pretty reasonable for a French place. I’ve been meaning to go here for a while.”

Klaus gestured to the wait staff. “Excuse me! Waiter! A bottle of your strongest wine please!”

“Don’t you mean finest wine sir.” The waiter said, voice heavy with disdain and implication.

“No he meant strongest” Dave replied, eyes not moving from the menu.  The waiter left in a huff.

“So Leonard, what do you do?” Klaus asked, moving his chair back to face Leonard.

“I have a shop... mostly antique restoration but I do some new pieces on the side.” Leonard avoided eye contact. This was not a part of his plan.

“He made a statue of me actually. I have it in my bedroom” Vanya added, smiling at Leonard. He gave her an awkward smile back.

“That is adorable.  How did you two meet?” Klaus smiled.

“What is this 20 questions?” Leonard chuckled nervously. “I took one of her violin lessons actually. How did you guys meet?”

“We served together.” Dave responded, putting down his menu and looking lovingly at Klaus.  Klaus stared back and smiled. 

“Your wines SIRS.” The waiter said, placing the bottle down on the table.  Klaus was about to make a snappy comeback, but Dave put a hand on his shoulder and filled everyone’s glasses. 

“He should of at least taken our orders. I’m thinking steak tonight. No reason not to waste Allison’s money.” Klaus said. Vanya realized she hadn’t decided and looked back down at the menu.  Leonard took the opportunity to leave for the bathroom. 

There was a comfortable pause before Dave spoke. “So Vanya do you have a work schedule? Apparently two guys can get married now and we don’t want you to have to pick between the wedding and work.”

“You guys are getting married? And inviting me?” Vanya asked.

“This is very much in the preliminary planning phase. Dave has yet to put a ring on it.” Klaus held up a ringless hand to demonstrate. “But yeah. Be warned though, I am going very avant garde with the groomsman suits and no one is wearing a dress but me.”

“I should have a copy of my concert schedule by tomorrow.” Vanya felt uncharacteristically included. “I could even do music for the ceremony.”

“Oh? What do you play?” Dave asked.

“Violin. I actually just made first chair today.” Vanya smiled and looked down

“Congratulations! That’s huge!” 

“They didn’t give you a chair until now?” 

Dave and Klaus spoke simultaneously. Dave turned to Klaus. “They all get chairs. First chair violin is like the sergeant of the orchestra.” He turned back to Vanya. “My sister played Cello. First chair violin is something else, must be real special.” 

Vanya could barely hear Leonard returning over the sound of the piano. Had it always been that loud ? Just as she was about to inform him of what he missed she heard the sound of breaking glass. The wine bottle exploded. The piano stopped. She looked back the table. Thankfully no one was hurt, but Klaus’s shirt was covered in red wine.  They all looked at him.

“I swear to god that wasn’t me!” he flicked wine off his hands. “This was one of my favorite shirts! WAITER.”

The waiter appeared with a smug grin on his face. “Sir we are going to have to ask you and the rest of your party to leave.”

* * *

They ended up at some greasy diner, packed into a small booth. Klaus leaned over Dave’s shoulder to look at his menu. “I like the pancakes here, but Ben always says the eggs are better for dinner.”

Dave moved his head slightly to look at Klaus. “I was actually thinking a patty melt with fries and a milkshake.” 

“Oooh can I...” Klaus asked. Dave nodded before he could finish. “Waitress!” 

“What can I get you?” The waitress asked, not looking up from her notepad.

“Can I the Grilled Cheese with tomato soup?” Vanya said

“I’ll have the same.” Said Leonard “And two sprites to drink.”

“Patty Melt with extra fries and a coke. Also we’ll be splitting a chocolate shake.” Dave said, trying to sound nonchalant. 

The waitress still didn’t look up. “Two straws or separate glasses?”

“Two straws.” Klaus responded. “Also I will have the tall stack of pancakes with floppy bacon and a mimosa.”

“We don’t serve alcohol. I’ll get you an orange juice” The waitress responded in monotone. She walked away from the table.

“I take back all the nice things I said about this restaurant.” Klaus pouted. Not getting any sympathy from the rest of the table he sat up. “So Leonard, Have any siblings?”

“No, it was just me and dad growing up.” Leonard responded.  The conversation fizzled. 

“How long have you been playing violin Vanya?” Dave tried.

“Since I was a kid.” Vanya responded, grateful for a chance to break the silence. “It was sort of what I did while everyone was out on missions.”

“Oh yeah, the Umbrella Academy stuff. Klaus told me a bit about that but I imagine you have a different take.” Everyone else paused for a second, unsure of how to defuse the conversational bomb that had just been placed on the table. Thankfully the waitress came by with their food and everyone was able to focus on eating instead of talking. 

 

About two-thirds of the way through his pancakes Klaus realized he had been sober for too long. Ben had been with him the entire date, offering snarky comments and advice on how to not fuck this up (God did he not want to fuck this up), but apparently he had reached the point of shit getting weird, as there was a man behind Leonard whose head was far too messed up to be getting no reaction if he was alive. 

“I know you can see me boy” Came the ghost’s voice. Klaus looked around to see if anyone else had heard. It didn’t seem like they had. Talking to asshole ghosts in public was almost never a good idea but Klaus doubted that this one would leave until Klaus heard him out so he rolled his eyes and looked straight at the ghost.

“I am trying to eat here. What’s your problem?” he said, making his disinterest clear. Leonard looked at Vanya in confusion. She shrugged while Dave sighed. 

“My problem is that this Little Brat bashed my head in and is walking around like he’s some sort of hot shot.” The ghost responded

“Who? Leonard?”

“No. My son HAROLD JENKINS. Probably is ashamed of disgracing the family name.”

“Well that's not an issue I’m getting into. Is there anything you want me to say to him?”

“Tell him that he’ll always be the same waste of space he always was and that those Umbrella Academy freaks can’t help him.”

“Hey hey hey. I resent that statement! It may be true but I still resent it!” 

“And whats a fruitcake like you going to do about it?” 

“NOW YOU LISTEN HERE” Klaus stood up. Dave also stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. They sat back down. Dave pulled a flask out from his coat and handed it to Klaus. Klaus took a swig and handed it back to Dave. “What a fucking asshole.”

“What the hell was that?!?!”  Leonard asked, visibly taken aback.

“There was a ghost behind you. Real dick. Thought you were his son Harold that killed him, and honestly props to Harold.” Klaus gestured with one of Dave’s fries and took another sip of their milkshake.

Leonard seemed more upset. “What did he say?!”

“That his kid was a waste of space and the Umbrella Academy couldn’t help him. Honestly it’s rare for ghosts that aren’t Ben to call me out personally.” Klaus ate the fry, not reacting to Leonard. “Also Dave why didn’t you tell me you had stuff this whole time?”

“Its for emergencies, not recreation.” Dave gave Klaus a look meant to keep him from asking more. 

“You said. It was true. What? Would you really not have given a shit about a kid going through hell?” Leonard asked, voice full of cold fury.

Klaus turned to face him, dropping his casual demeanor. “If we know how to help kids going through hell we would have helped ourselves.”

Leonard grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the restaurant. 

Vanya watched him go and turned to Klaus. She had no idea what to say. It took Klaus a second to look back at her, she fixed him with a troubled stare and one hundred unsaid words. The realization that he had fucked up bloomed on his face. “Vanya I...” he tried to say, but Vanya had gone after Leonard before he could finish. He turned to face Dave, eyes scared and unsure of what to do. Dave put his hands on Klaus’s shoulders.

“Go after her, I’ll deal with things here.” Dave said. Klaus nodded and ran after Vanya.  Dave reached over the booth and grabbed the purse Vanya had left. He took out the check Allison had written.  “Excuse me Ma’am, can we get the rest of this wrapped up? And I think I’m gonna want a couple of pies to-go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP Klaus's shirt from episode 2, it was far too young. Also Vanya needs to keep better track of her stuff, she's always leaving it places


	4. After the date, Day 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My spell check for this didn't recognize "Vanya" as a word. So many red lines. Also this is where the mature rating is so barely earned.

Vanya managed to catch up to Leonard in an alley near the restaurant. She was slightly out of breath as she placed an arm on his shoulder. “Leonard?” she asked.

He turned to her a little too sharply. “What is it?”

Vanya suddenly felt unsure. “ I... I was just wondering why you left.” She asked, backing away slightly.

“Let’s see... Not only did your brother start talking to somehow that wasn’t there while we were eating, he underhandedly accused me of murder and acted likE BEING A SUPERHERO WAS SOMEHOW COMPARABLE TO WHAT ACTUAL KIDS EXPERIENCED.” Leonard’s voice rose as he spoke ending just short of shouting.

Vanya shrunk back into herself. “I don’t think he was talking about the superhero part... dad wasn’t really nice to any of us... I’m sorry about him.”

Leonard didn’t correct her apology. “Are you really going to take his side in all this? After he made this whole thing about him?” 

Vanya wasn’t sure what to think. On one hand she wanted to keep Leonard, but on the other Klaus was her brother and he had been trying. “I... I don’t know... my family is important to me.. I want them to like us.”

Leonard rolled his eyes. “When are you going to stop trying for what you can’t get Vanya.  I’ll see you tomorrow. Or not, maybe you can pal around with those losers instead” Leonard walked away before Vanya could respond, leaving her alone with her confusion, her sorrow and the streetlights that were somehow humming so loud she could barely hear her thoughts over them and and....

* * *

 

“Shit shit shit... Ben do you see her?” Klaus asked as he looked around for Vanya and Leonard. He was just about to head back to the resturant when he heard a weird sound.  Years of training had made it instinctual for Hargreeves children to run toward strange sounds instead of away from them, and as Klaus got closer her could see lamp posts tilting over and trash cans crushing in on themselves and in the center of it all, Vanya. She was alone and staring blankly ahead, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around her. “Vanya? Vanya!” Klaus said, running up to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. The metal stopped moving. 

Vanya sat down on the ground. Klaus sat down in front of her. They sat in silence for a bit before Vanya spoke. “Leonard doesn’t like you.” It wasn’t an accusation just a statement of unhappy fact.

“I’m sorry, Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” Klaus admitted.

“Maybe... but he was acting weird about it and I want him to like you guys, and he just seemed so ...cold and angry about it...it's like he’s asking me to pick between him and my family and I don't want that. Especially not now.”

Klaus looked at Vanya for a second and took a deep breath. “Listen Vanya I want this for you. I want you to meet your guy and for it to all be happily ever after because god knows that’s what we all deserve after everything but you’ve known Leonard for what  three days? And he wants you to leave your family for him? Like I know we’re assholes but that's not shit for a second date.” Vanya nodded but didn’t speak. “I don’t have to tell Allison if you don’t want. I get that you like him, and honestly maybe this will be a good thing. You can have all that honest heart to heart communication that I thought was bullshit until I tried it.” Vanya smiled at him. He stood up. “I understand the book now, airing the shit we were taught to be ashamed of feels good.” He spun around. “Also what’s with all this?”

“What's with what? Vanya stood up and looked around, noticing the destruction for the first time.

“This!” Klaus gestured to the bent light pole and other chaos. 

“I...I don’t know? Did you do it?”

“I most certainly did not” Klaus huffed. “Why would I ruin a perfectly good shirt?”

“But but I don’t have powers...and this, this is big... how could I have done it without noticing?”

“Probably the same way Luther threw that ceremonial first pitch into the Goodyear Blimp.” Vanya laughed. That was one of the few times Luther had gotten in trouble and none of them had ever let him forget it.  “Let’s get back, I doubt this is a conversation for an alley anyway.” 

They returned to the front of the diner where Dave was already waiting with a taxi and a large bag. “Keep better track of your stuff Vanya.” He said as he tossed her back her purse and got in the car.

* * *

 

It was dark in the academy when they got back. None of them were under the impression that everyone was asleep, but the lights were dimmed and no one could be heard bustling. 

“Ok so heres the plan” Klaus said as they walked down the hall. “You find Luther or Diego or someone and have them make a plan while I fuck Dave in dad’s office. Any questions?”

“Really Klaus?” asked Ben.

“Ok no valid questions, see you tomorrow.” He took Dave and headed off

Vanya raised her hand as if to say something, but decided against it.  She instead walked upstairs, trying to figure out what in the world was going on and how the hell she was going to explain it to her siblings. 

Vanya was about to knock on Luther’s door when Allison noticed her. “Vanya? How was your date? Come in!” She said, scooting over on her bed and patting for Vanya to sit beside her. “Give me alll the details.”

Vanya sat beside Allison and smiled. “I guess we can start with the easy part. I like Dave.”

“Really?” Allison asked

“Yeah, he’s a nice guy. I mean he’s not perfect otherwise he wouldn’t be dating Klaus but I think they’re cute together.” Vanya smiled. “They literally shared a milkshake.” 

Allison turned to face Vanya. “Wait...I thought you went to a French restaurant, why would they have milkshakes?”

Vanya smiled bashfully “We actually got kicked out the French restaurant.”

“What did he do? Please tell me the check covered it” 

“Actually” Vanya turned to look Allison directly in the eye. “I think I did it”

“Explain”

“We were at the restaurant, and I was just so happy that they were going to include me and the piano was super loud for some reason and then Leonard came up and the wine bottle...sorta...exploded... and then later we were talking again and similar stuff happened and I guess I uh maybe have powers.” 

“Vanya thats... thats big? How did we not know? How did DAD not know?” Allison thought briefly of the strange rumor in the room downstairs but dismissed it.  “How do you feel about it?”

“I...I don’t know... wait, my medication! I’ve been taking it since I was a kid and I never knew why so maybe it had something to do with my powers. I ran out today and I’ve been feeling better but...”

Allison placed a hand on Vanya’s shoulder. “You don’t have to suppress this if you don’t want to.  It’s our choices now if we use our powers or not, and if this is something you want to explore than we will be here for you. And if you don’t want to than this isn’t going to change anything.”

“But I want things to change. I want them to get better and this feels like a chance for that. I just don’t get why Dad would do this.”

“Ummm because he’s an asshole?” Allison said. They both laughed. Allison paused for a second.  “Hey Vanya we’re way too old for this, but do you want to have a sleepover? I can get my old bedroll out and we can do all the stupid trivial stuff girls do like braid each other’s hair and gossip about trivial stuff for a night. I should have been doing this with you for years but there’s no time like now to start I guess”

The room shook slightly as Vanya smiled at Allison. “There’s nothing I would want more.”

Allison got out her old bedroll from the closet and they both changed into old pairs of loose pajamas and laughed when they didn’t fit quite right. They painted each other’s nails and did each other’s hair and talked about everything that wasn’t important, like annoying co-workers or their favorite galas or what they would have worn to prom and what Diego did when some girl had wrote to ask him and Reginald had made him go for publicity.  It was well past midnight when Allison decided to turn off the light and even lighter when they finally managed to stop giggling and go to sleep. 

* * *

 

Klaus swallowed. Dave smiled adoringly as he tucked himself back into his pants (technically Diego's pants that he had “borrowed” for the date as they had left all of his stuff in Vietnam and Klaus wasn’t his size) and zipped them. “I love you.” 

“Everyone loves me after I do that.”  Klaus smirked up at him.

“I’d love you even if you couldn’t do that” Dave got out of Reginald’s chair and kneelled down in front of Klaus. “I’d love you if you just wanted to cuddle forever if you wanted to try kinky shit or if everything stayed like this."

“Door number 3 please” Klaus joked. Dave chuckled a bit but didn’t break eye contact.

“I loved you in Vietnam and I love you right here and I would love you on the moon or back in Pennsylvania. “ Dave spoke with real emotion, which Klaus would never get used to. He took Klaus’s hand in his. “I love you with your addiction and I’ll love you when you get clean. I love you with your powers and I would love you without them. I love you when you're on top of the world and I love you when things get bad.” Tears began to prick at Klaus’s eyes. “I have loved you for a year, and I love you right now and I will love you in the future because you are my future. Our happy ending is us, together, even though so many people said we couldn’t.” Klaus realized what was going on and began nodding while he cried. “Hey now, I haven’t asked you yet.”

“Please Dave.” Klaus whispered, barely able to get it out. 

Dave smiled and got on one knee. He took out the piece of tinfoil he had crafted into a makeshift. “Klaus Hargreeves will you make me the happiest man in history?”

Klaus threw himself into Dave’s arms, knocking them both to the floor. “Yes Yes a million times Yes oh my god.”  They adjusted to a more comfortable position, with Dave on his back and Klaus held tight on top of him. “Yes to marrying you though, I can’t make you the happiest man in history because I am so much happier than you right now.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't decide if I like the sleepover or the proposal better, both are just that good emotional bonding stuff


	5. The Commission, Day 1?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now for something completely different.

 

Five watched as the bullets heading for his brother stopped. In fact everything had stopped except for the woman who had just appeared. She looked different than he remembered, less put together and wearing a Jackie Kennedy number instead of her usual 50’s cocktail dress. 

“I don’t know how you did it Five but I suppose congratulations are in order.” She said, sounding almost defeated.

Five had no idea what she was talking about. “I’m the best, that’s all there is to it” he said. 

“Well if your the best I would rather have you working with us than against us. Apparently branch timelines are left with a skeleton crew and apparently something happened to our base between 1955 and 1968 so those we do have are busy with that. The good news is that apparently work to create the briefcases was done in our timeline so we’re able to replace those. ”The Handler said, gesturing with her own briefcase.

“So this is a branch timeline where the apocalypse doesn’t happen.” Five asked, careful not to betray his excitement.

“Yes Five the apocalypse isn’t happening.” The Handler explained as if she was talking to a literal child instead of an old man with the body of one. “Don’t be too pleased with yourself though, it’s still happening in the main timeline. Now are you going to accept my offer or not?”

“Depends, what’s the offer?”

“Rejoin us, but in a much better position. Steady, engaging work with full benefits, including... a body replacement.”

 Five considered. He would like to avoid a second puberty “I’d like to see where I would be working. I also have a few other demands.”

“Name them.”

“First I’m going to need assurances there is good coffee, and secondly I am going to need amnesty for my brother and likely future brother in law.  Also you are going to have to tell me what caused the apocalypse, curiosity demands I know. Then I’ll consider it.”

“Excellent.” She offered him a hand. He motioned for her to wait.. He moved the bullets in the air away from Luther. He also took the guns from both Hazel and Cha Cha and stuffed them into his coat.  He hoped that Luther would have the good sense to leave after he realized Five had left, but figured he would give him a fighting chance when he decided to be an idiot. He took The Handler’s hand and they disappeared.

* * *

 

Five figured that the building they appeared it had seen better days. As The Handler let him down the halls he could see subtle signs of damage and clear signs of disuse. The Handler explained the rooms as they walked past, explaining that the empty desks and harried workers were a sign of the recent branching and not a major issue. No one there seemed exactly at ease with the situation except for the woman in the tube room, who hummed a small tune while she sent messages on their way. “Well this is you.” The Handler said, gesturing to a large room full of desks that were mostly empty. “Our caseworkers are the base of our operation, and I assure you that you will find the work very interesting. Have a trial case!” She handed him a red folder and walked away. “Also by the way apparently our timeline is less stable so ...traditional methods are now far less advised! Have fun with that!”

Five went to his too large desk and looked at the file. It was... interesting, but like his other cases it was purely an intellectual interest, a puzzle to be solved. A few of his potential coworkers tried to talk to him but he ignored them.  It didn’t take him too long to finish it,  he just had to make sure that some girl’s parents read an article that would lead them to give her a curfew so she didn’t meet the shooter. No one would have to die. How interesting. He took the tube to the room and was just about to send it when Gloria approached him. 

“You don’t belong here” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder and taking the tube away.

"What would you know?" He asked angrily.

"Lets just say everyone else's job seems easy unless you really know what it entails." She responded, placing the message in the tube and going back to her own work while ignoring Five. 

He marched petulantly back to his office and tried to find something to do.  Thankfully the apocalypse had made him very good at boredom. “Hey do you want to get lunch?” One of his coworkers asked.

“No.” He responded, busy trying to turn his paperclips into an effective weapon to pay attention to anyone. 

He had almost managed to make an silent but deadly long distance projectile launcher out of nothing but office supplies when The Handler came in. “Come on Five, there’s no need to be anti-social. Besides I want to watch someone eat a solid lunch.” Five figured she would not take no for an answer so he put his latest innovation down and followed her. She showed him her office and blathered on about this and that while he ate. He still wasn’t used to good food so ate a little quickly.  “So what do you think?” 

“It’s good. Haven’t had real chicken in a while.”

“I meant about the position Five. You could do great work, oh and let me sweeten the pot a little bit.” She pulled out a large box and placed it in front of Five.  “Well go ahead, open it.”

Five looked at the suit in the box. It would fit his older body perfectly. The body of a survivor, of a killer, the body of the man who would likely die in this office, or doing its work. “I’ll pass.”

“What do you mean Five?”

“I’m not going to take the job”

“I don’t understand,  isn’t this what you have always wanted?”

“Maybe once upon a time. He teleported so he was looking out the window. “but I want better things now. I want to do all the stupid things I missed in the apocalypse, like sneaking into an R-rated movie or having friends that aren't plastic. And I want to see my siblings grow up too, and if we can get over what dad did to us. My sister had a concert on the day the world ended” The Handler snorted, he ignored her. “And I plan to attend it”

“Number Five...”She was interrupted by one of the caseworkers running in and handing her a small scrap of paper. She read it. “It is a shame to see you go and It has been a pleasure working with you.” Five was shocked by her easy acceptance. He tried to lean over the desk to see the paper. She pulled it away from him. “We’ll even guarantee the safety of your brother and brother in law AND I could be persuaded to get 21st century paperwork made in exchange for a wedding invitation.” She stood up and extended her hand. 

“I’ll see what I can do” He shook it. 

“Excellent. Now when should I drop you off?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I care deeply about time travel theory so I couldn't just leave the commission unresolved and not explain why the apocalypse doesn't happen without timeline changes. We'll be back to business soon enough


	6. The Family Meeting, Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After 8000 words, Luther finally appears. I don't particularly like or hate him so I decided to strike a balance here with him not getting to say much.

 

Luther still wasn’t sure about what was going on, but he believed what Five had said and if the world was ending they were going to need everyone.  He knocked on Allison’s door. 

“Huh? What is it?” came a voice that clearly wasn’t Allison’s. Luther opened the door a little too quickly. Allison and Vanya both looked up at him, clearly having been woken up by his knocking. “Why is Vanya here?” He asked.

“We had a sleepover, what are you doing here?” Allison responded

“There's uh a Family Meeting. 10 minutes. Important matters need to be discussed.”

“We’ll get ready then.” Allison said in a tone that dared the two of them to say Luther wasn’t implying both of them were invited.  Neither of them wanted to do that.

“Have you seen Klaus? He’s not in his room.” Luther asked instead.

“Try dad’s office.” Vanya said “but with your eyes closed.” she added. 

“Did he seriously...” Allison asked, disgusted. Vanya grimaced and nodded. “I’m going to pretend he didn’t.” Vanya wished she could as well.

Luther didn’t know what they were referring to. “Thanks... Remember ten minutes” He said awkwardly as he left.

“Thank you ten.” Allison said as she got up and closed the door.

Luther went downstairs. He walked past the main room where Diego was waiting. “Ten Minutes!” he shouted at him while walking by. Diego grunted angrily back. He reached the door of Dad’s office. It was closed. He hesitantly raised his hand to knock. Dad hadn’t liked to be interrupted while he was working and despite him being dead Luther still had trouble disobeying him.  He remembered his father wasn't there, closed his eyes and opened the door. “Family Meeting. 10 minutes.” He said loudly to the room, morbid curiosity daring him to open his eyes. He resisted.

There was movement and the sound of muffled curses. “I don’t want to go to the meeting.  I have important stuff to doooo.” Said Klaus. Luther was sure he heard snickering but dismissed it.

“This is more important.  Get of your ass and do something valuable for once.” Luther responded, almost opening his eyes when he heard laughter.

“But we’ve established I’m” Klaus started. Luther interrupted him.

“10 minutes. And get out of here, we aren’t meant to be here” He heard Klaus grumble, but also heard him get up. He decided to leave before he figured out what was going on.

* * *

 

The meeting began 11 minutes later when Klaus walked in, shirtless. Luther cleared his throat. “Now that we are all here we have a very serious situation to discuss.”

“Yeah before that...” Klaus walked in front of Luther and raised his hand, now adorned with tin foil. “I’M GETTING MARRIED” He exclaimed, with more genuine excitement and joy than the Hargreeves had heard in years.

“WHAT?!?!” Shouted Diego and Allison.

“Congratulations” said Vanya and Ben.

Luther was just confused.

“Thank you both siblings who really care about my happiness.” He gestured to Vanya and Ben.

Diego stood up. “Hey whoa whoa whoa. I care and that's why its not cool that your marrying a guy you have known for a day.”

“I’ve known Dave for a year.” Klaus retorted. “Time travel”

“Still, we barely know who he is or what he wants.” Allison tried.

“And how many of us had met Patrick?” Klaus paused for a moment. “Also I’m inviting everyone twice to make up for Allison not inviting any of us.” Klaus gestured at Allison, who was now the center of attention.

“I mean we weren’t exactly easy to find...” Luther said, feeling the need to defend Allison.

“It's not like she looked. I had to find out through a magazine” Diego fired back.

Allison took a deep breath. Her instincts told her to just let them fight, or to turn the negative attention on someone else and if all else failed rumor away the problem. Her therapist was right though, that wouldn’t actually fix anything and it always came back worse. “I was wrong not to invite all of you. I didn’t want to confront what was really going on and I blamed you for things that aren’t your fault. It’s always going to be something that happened so it’s better if we just moved on rather than dwelling on it.” She finally said. The Hargreeves had never before seen a display of emotional maturity, so had no idea what to do with it. Even Allison wasn’t sure what was supposed to come next. 

Long after the silence had become uncomfortable, Luther started again. “Well if no one has any more announcements...” 

“Actually uh I have an announcement.” interrupted Vanya. “I made first chair violin yesterday and my concert is at the end of the week. The theater said I can reserve up to 10 seats for guests so was wondering if any of you guys would like to come? Vanya spoke quickly and finished with a shy smile. 

There was another silence. Vanya’s face fell. “I guess I can delay going back to Los Angeles for another couple days” Allison said. Vanya smiled again.

“It’s not like I have anything better to do” Klaus said. “Get me two tickets.”

“One for you and one for Dave of just two for yourself because you can’t sit in chairs properly?” Vanya jokingly asked back. Klaus immediately corrected his posture. 

Allison turned expectantly  to Luther. He glanced subtly at Vanya who seemed hopeful. He looked back at Allison who was staring hard at him. He cleared his throat. “Vanya this is important to you but the focus has to be on what's important to everyone. Like the end of the world. Now yesterday Five told me that...”

“The apocalypse is cancelled.” Five walked in 15 minutes late with Starbucks, interrupting Luther. He teleported so he was sitting on the bar. “Don’t ask what we did but we won. Also Klaus I’m going to need a wedding invitation for a mysterious acquaintance in exchange for forged paperwork.”

“Ok”

“No follow up questions on that?”

“Nah I’m good, seems reasonable. You were getting two anyway.” 

“Where were you!?” Luther asked Five.

“Tying up loose ends” Five responded, taking a sip of his coffee. “Also Vanya where can I get tickets for your concert, I want to go.”

“I’ll reserve them for you” Vanya gave Five a genuine smile which he returned.  

“Ok then” said Luther, exasperated “I guess the end of the world is dealt with, but there is still the matter of dad’s death and our inheritance and so much other stuff so does anyone else have any matters they want to get out?”  The Hargreeves looked at each other and shrugged. “Excellent. Now as I was saying...”

“Who wants pie!” Dave interrupted. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally linked with chapters 7 and 8 into one but the word count made it clear that that would be a bad idea. Comments keep Luther from getting to finish his sentence! or let him finish if that is what you want. I'm flexible at this point.


	7. Family Meeting Part 2, Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At long last the answer to the question: Everyone wants pie

Dave waited until Klaus’s brother had left to get up. He kissed his fiance on the lips and smiled like a dork. “I guess our plans for this morning are canceled. I’ll see you later.” Klaus kissed him again and went to freshen up in the bathroom (not make himself presentable, which would be against his signature brand, but to at least get rid of morning breath).

Dave stretched.  He had gotten used to sleeping rough in Vietnam but spending the night on the floor with someone on top of him was still hell on his back. He hoped he had been a better pillow. He peaked out the door to check if the coast was clear, and upon seeing it was, made his way downstairs.

He had managed to put the pies in the fridge downstairs the night before, despite a very compelling distraction. He opened the fridge and was surveying his bounty when he felt someone coming up behind him. If his reflexes handed been trained (half by war and half by brothers and sisters) he probably wouldn’t have turned to face the woman barely a foot away from him in time. “Uhhh Allison right?” He asked, feeling as if he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. 

“Oh no silly, I’m Grace, the children's mother.” She responded, her expression unreadable. 

“I’m sorry, you don’t look a day over 30 ma’am.” Dave was shocked by how much Klaus’s mother looked like his own.  They had the same blonde hair, same wide skirts and same loving but threatening disposition. Dave guessed if his mother could have looked how she wanted instead of how she had time and money for she would have looked exactly like Grace. He probably would have been uncomfortable with that even if she wasn't so close. 

“Oh what a flatterer. What is your name?” Grace's voice was eerily pleasant. She stepped slightly closer. Dave backed up against the refrigerator.

“My name is uh Dave ma’am” He desperately tried to remember of Klaus had mentioned being out to his mother.  “I’m uh...a friend of Klaus’s” 

Grace cocked her head. “What kind of a friend? The children don’t bring friends here often.”

Dave raised his shoulders. “A close one?” he tried.

Grace looked him over and smiled gently. “Are you dating? Our dear Klaus isn’t the type to bring such a handsome man over just as a friend.” 

Dave let out a sigh of relief and dropped his shoulders “We’re engaged actually”

Grace stepped back.  “Wonderful! You’ll be joining the family then” her eyes went unfocused for a second then returned to their standard inscrutable smile. “What would you like for breakfast?” 

Dave turned his head back to the pies in the fridge but doubted that would be an acceptable answer to Klaus’s mom. Uncomfortable as he was, he decided to make the best of a bad situation. “Can I get two eggs sunny side up, some floppy bacon and short stack of pancakes with chocolate chips?” He asked, figuring she would bargain him down. Instead she just smiled at him and began to gather cooking supplies. Dave got away from the fridge and sat down at the table.  That had been the breakfast for special mornings, when mom was really feeling the whole housewife thing or there was an occasion worth celebrating. Just smelling the bacon was bringing him back. “What was Klaus like as a kid?”

“Oh he was a hellion” Grace said affectionately, still focusing on cooking. “Always getting into trouble.”

“I guess some things never change” Dave laughed. “You gotta have some embarrassing stories to tell”

Grace hummed a little bit while she cooked and thought. “Well I can tell you about the time he stole my heels and fell down the stairs.” She put the plate down in front of him and sat down at the table.

* * *

 

“Sorry is this a bad time?” Dave noticed how Luther was looking at him. “I just figured none of you had had breakfast and that the meeting would have devolved into chaos by about now.”

Diego made a quick calculation. He didn’t like either Dave or Luther but Dave could theoretically be better while Luther was an asshat. “No it’s the perfect time. What kind of pie?” He asked.

“I got everybody a different one. Thanks for the cash Vanya by the way. And I did make sure it was ok with your mom.”

“Our mom is dead...” Klaus said, unusually serious.

Dave was confused “Then who the fuck is this?” He gestured to Grace as she came in with the rest of the slices of pie.

“MOM?!?” Diego immediately got up and ran to Grace. “How are you up and walking around.”

“One foot in front of the other. How do you do it?” Grace smiled. “Be careful though, I am carrying plates.” She turned to look at all the Hargreeves “Now this a special treat for a special occasion, not a regular occurrence. Take it away David.”

Dave grabbed the first two plates. He handed one to Luther. “Blueberry pie for Luther, I was going to go with cherry.” Klaus snorted, Dave smiled at him and continued “but Blueberries are in season and I figured you would want something fresh.” Luther blushed a little and took the pie.  Dave moved on. “Ok I kind of cheated and remembered that Klaus told me coconut cream was your favorite.” He handed the pie to Diego, who took it but still glared. 

“Wait are those my pants?” Diego asked as Dave was walking away.

“We kind of left all of Dave’s stuff in the Past and sadly he’s just too beefy to fit in my clothes so I let him borrow yours.”  Klaus responded. Dave shrugged.

Diego’s face scrunched in disgust. “I guess I am burning that outfit.  Thanks for the pie though.” He began eating. 

Dave grabbed the next plates from Grace and went up to Allison. “Key Lime, the classiest of pies.” He said as he presented it.

“You know what Dave?” Allison said, voice dripping with passive aggression. “I think we need to get to know each other better. I can take you to get more clothes after this.” She took her pie and smiled.

“I’ll go too. Get myself a replacement outfit” Diego said, standing up.

Dave wasn’t an idiot, he knew exactly what was going on. Thus he also knew he could not say no or acknowledge what was going on. “Sounds good! I don’t really have cash though...” He didn’t break eye contact until he was right next to Klaus. “Black forest cake with whipped cream and extra cherries.” Their hands stayed together for far longer than necessary to pass a plate.

“But Babe I already like you.” Klaus said, staring lovingly at his boyfriend and running his finger through the whipped cream. 

“All the more reason to buy you cake.”  Klaus raised the finger to his mouth and licked it.

“Peanut Butter cheesecake. I’m only just getting back into desserts so this is fine.” Said Five, having gotten his plate from Grace while the rest of this nonsense was occurring. Dave and Klaus broke apart. Dave looked embarrassed, Klaus clearly didn’t care.

The final plate was larger than the others. Dave grabbed it from Grace and handed it to Vanya. “They called it the chocolate apocalypse. I figured you could use it after last night. You feeling better?” Dave’s voice was gentle, the kind he had used on his little sisters when they had rough times. Vanya seemed unsure but she nodded as she took the cake. Dave gave her a soft smile. 

The Hargreeves all enjoyed their dessert breakfast, treats having been rare growing up and life circumstances having prevented them from treating themselves nearly as often as they should.  Allison grabbed her purse and motioned for Diego and Dave to follow. Klaus moved to get up, but Dave looked at him and shook his head. He then had an idea, and threw Klaus his dog tags. Klaus caught them and Dave smiled. At least he would be remembered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grace is back baby and in full mom mode. Sorry about the wait, especially after the great response to chapter 6


	8. The Mall, Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured I would drop this now instead of waiting because there is likely going to be a long wait until chapter 9 (Gotta love college papers). Also try to spot the subtle homestuck reference

No one spoke for the first few minutes of the car ride. Dave was in the back while Allison drove and Diego took shotgun.

“Soooo Dave...” Allison started, voice pleasant but threatening.

“Who are you and what do you want with our brother!?!?” Diego finished, abandoning subtlety in favor of flashing his knife. Allison rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything.

“Well my name is David Katz, I’m either 25 or 72 years old depending on how you're counting. I was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania on December 3rd 1942. I served in the 173rd Squadron of the US Army and I want pretty much everything with your brother but mostly to marry him right now.”

“And how did you meet Klaus?” Allison asked, voice still faux positive.

“We served together. He appeared in our barracks in a flash of blue light like some sort of angel” Dave smiled as he remembered the moment.

“I would hardly describe Klaus as an angel.” Diego said under his breath. “Why him? You couldn't fuck someone else’s brother?”

Dave laughed. “I mean it was 1968 when I met him, fucking someone else’s brother would not have been easy.  I guess that’s why I started with him, I’d never seen a guy that unafraid to be queer, even if he wasn’t picking up half the hints I was putting down. Other than that he’s real funny, and handsome and he just... cares, so much and I can’t imagine giving him up now. He makes me feel like the best version of myself and like one of those dopes in a love song”

Allison and Diego looked at each other. They had never heard someone describe their brother in those terms, hell he was rarely described in positive terms at all. They felt bad that they wouldn’t have said anything near as nice if asked.

“How well do you really know him though?” Allison tried, far less aggressively.

“Pretty darn good. Quiz me.”

The Hargreeves alternated asking rapid fire questions.

“Birthday?”

“October First 1989”

“Blood Type?”

“A negative like the rest of you”

“Powers?”

“Talks to the dead”

“Allergies?”

“Doesn’t have any but says he’s allergic to peas so he doesn’t have to eat them”

“Favorite color?”

“Black”

“Favorite holiday” 

“It’s actually Black Friday”

“Favorite food?”

“He really like sauerkraut. May not be his favorite but it sticks out”

“Favorite Sibling?

“Ben”

“Who is still alive”

“Die-HEY!”

“Too late already said it.” Diego said smugly, leaning back in his chair.  The tension in the car seemed to have faded. Dave waited a second to see if it would come back and then laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Allison asked, turning back briefly

“It’s just you’re all the same age but act like your numbers are birth order. Golden boy eldest son, over protective elder middle, desperate for attention in the middle and finally the sweet baby brother and sister.  I could have guessed even without Five labelling himself.”

Diego sat back up and looked at Allison. It was a strange idea to them, especially considering just how little they had seen each other and how badly the first few days of their reunion had went. 

“Are we really like that?” Allison asked, voice a little melancholy “Normal siblings?”

Now Dave had been given bombs before, both actual and metaphorical, but this one was a doozy.  He doubted Klaus’s stories had captured everything it was to live at the Umbrella Academy, especially considering his boyfriend’s flair for the dramatic and dislike of telling the whole truth. He had also known these two people specifically for less than an hour, and the family aside from Klaus for a day. Scratch that he knew Ben sorta though he had never seen him and Vanya and the rest were a mystery. “I mean it's not like there is some clear model for siblings but I guess you all took on the roles because that's what people that care about each other do?” He knew he was fudging but hoped it would get through, those would have been shit last words.

“I guess you don’t really know us...” Allison responded. She sounded more sad than angry.

“That’s the point of this isn’t it? Did Klaus really set your hair on fire because you took his blouse?” Dave tried to change the subject.

“OK it was mom that gave me the blouse because Klaus left it on the floor for a month...” Allison launched into the story and before they knew it they had arrived in a large parking lot.

“Oh wait before I forget!” Dave said, exiting the car. “I don’t like Leonard. If it were him back here I would have recommended a trip to an empty field... instead of... here. What is this place?” 

“It's a mall?” Allison stated as though it was obvious “Oh right the time travel stuff, It’s a bunch of stores in one place that became a thing in the 80s." Dave nodded.

They shopped for a few hours. Diego went and bought another simple button up and pair of pants. Also a bunch of knives and a pair of earrings for his mom, because there was no reason to waste a trip. Dave proved himself to be Klaus’s boyfriend by spending a considerable amount of Allison’s money on things he would have gotten killed for wearing in the 60s. Also on things that were fashionable then and should have stayed there.  He didn’t quite match Klaus’s level of “taste”, but Allison was still pleasantly reminded of her brother and how happy he had been when he got to try clothes Reginald never would have approved of. 

As soon as he had finished Diego moved to get Dave alone. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Allison to keep watch on him, but she wasn’t as close to Klaus as he was and had a tendency to make things her business when they weren’t.  Dave was looking into a window of a store with Allison nowhere in sight when Diego made his move. He was about to bring up another knife when he caught what Dave was looking at. It was a display with a variety of rings, some traditional, some not, but all the kind of thing that would work for an engagement. Dave caught Diego’s reflection in the mirror and turned to him. “I guess I probably should have gotten one of these. Guess it’s too late now.”

Diego was thrown off his rhythm. “Yeah I guess it’s tin foil until the wedding bands.” They stared silently at the rings for a second before Diego remembered what he was going to say. “Listen, every person I’ve ever seen with Klaus has been bad news. Drug Dealers, Pimps, Goth kids... you know the deal. Ever since we were kids people have wanted him to do stuff for them, and haven’t been above doing some shady shit to get it.  He’s fucked up, and I won’t have you fucking him any further.”

“Too late on that bud.” Dave winked.

“I meant metaphorically. And now I am definitely burning that outfit. He’s my brother and despite all this shit I love him.”

“Is it so hard to believe I love him too?”

Diego thought for a second but wasn’t sure how to answer. Dave smirked. Allison came up behind them. “What are you doing. If you’re done we can head out.”

They both nodded at her and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank god the thing with Dave's last name dropped before I posted this. Now I have to look up Jewish weddings.


	9. The Academy, Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I go this done during spring break. I would like to thank the two papers I really really should have been writing instead of this.

A question hung in the air: What Now?

Luther had been entirely disrespected as leader, but apparently everything had worked out anyway. His mission was over and his father. Luther was faced with the realization that he had never really made his own plans and would probably in charge of that now.  He still wasn’t sure of what he was doing on the moon but the thought of going back there... well it was best not to have that thought.

Five had also been on a mission. Now that mission was done. Congratulations Five! You won, lets get ice cream and__________. The sentence refused to finish itself. He had spent his entire life waiting for this moment and he was in it, except he was also a fifty eight year old in a thirteen year old body and he had learned skills that made him very good at surviving and murder but not very good at much else.  He had talked big at the commission but honestly had no clue what he was doing.

Klaus was just realizing that he had made commitments. Commitments that he couldn’t just ignore or blow off, commitments to people he hadn’t already convinced that he was a junkie who couldn’t be trusted, commitments to people he loved.  He had decided to stay sober-er, so like alcohol was fine and maybe some pot but goodbye to the hard (and thus highly effective) stuff, and he could feel his body and mind rebelling against that concept. He would also have to get a permanent place to stay and some money that wasn’t from crimes, honestly he probably needed a job. He also had zero wedding ideas other than looking hot as hell while his siblings looked dumb and it took a lot of ideas to make the kind of event that could celebrate a relationship like this. 

Vanya was actually pretty happy with how things were going. She had her dream job, her siblings were starting to respect her, there was a guy that like her (though Leonard was iffy at the moment) and she had powers. Wait that was the perfect idea to end the silence that had been going on for far too long. “I actually have another announcement. Apparently I have powers.”

Her brothers all looked at her. 

“That's a problem we can deal with”

“We can solve that by devoting all of our attention to it”

“And absolutely none to anything else that may need doing”

Vanya smiled.

* * *

 

They went up to the roof.  Five had grabbed a notepad and stopwatch while Luther grabbed some of their old training equipment. Klaus had gotten another slice of cake. 

“So what are your powers?” Luther asked

“I.. I don’t really know? Some kind of telekinesis?” Vanya said. It was awkward to be the one being examined rather than examining. 

“Well when did you find out you had them?” Five asked, voice far gentler than Luther's.

“Well I was at the restaurant and we were talking and I just kept hearing the piano and then ... boom” Vanya responded

“I’m going to need more variables. Do you have coordinates? Exact time? Air pressure readings?” Five asked, scribbling furiously.

“We’re not all nerds whose powers work with _ math  _ Five. How were you feeling?” Klaus gestured with his fork. 

“Uhhhh” Vanya suddenly felt like this had been a bad idea. “I don’t know and happy I guess? At first, but definitely not the other time? This is dumb”

“Hey, we aren’t giving up just yet.” Luther said. “Just use your powers. It’s as simple as that.”

Vanya tried. She really did. She tried all the classic telepath poses, but nothing worked. She saw the disappointment bloom on Luther’s face. She couldn’t fail at this, couldn’t have them feel she was ordinary again. She could hear Five taking notes, the pencil on paper writing whatever he was writing, probably how he was also disappointed in her and how she didn’t really have powers and just wanted attention, and that was all she could hear. She wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.

Five looked up just as the ground under Vanya began to give way. “VANYA” he shouted and teleported to move her out of the way. He managed to get there in time, and they both watched as the ground where Vanya had been standing crumbled. 

“Did I do that?” Vanya asked, looking down into the attic. The others nodded.

“Well good job Vanya next we can...” Luther started

“Oh shit I have rehearsal” Vanya said, scrambling up and running downstairs. The rest looked over the edge of the roof as she scrambled to grab a taxi and her stuff. 

“Ok then team we can...” Luther said. He was ignored.

“You still owe me twenty bucks”

“I will not fund your drug habit”

“Then buy me something that costs twenty dollars.”

“Fine.” Five teleported his way downstairs.

“Excellent, I’ll grab my stuff.  Two minutes.”

* * *

 

“You know I would have bought you almost anything in that store. A pastry, a bagel, a gift card even. There was no reason to spend all twenty bucks on one drink.

“I guess you just aren’t an icon like me Five”

“Does it even taste good?”

“Oh absolutely not.”

“Then. Why. Are. You. Drinking. IT!”

Klaus just slurped his coffee in response. 

Five was about to lecture him about how he shouldn’t take good coffee for granted when he saw a man staking out the academy. He looked unassuming, like most serial killers. He put a hand out to stop Klaus.

“Oh hey Leonard. You looking for Vanya?” Klaus said, casually drinking his coffee.

The man turned to them, seeming surprised to see Klaus and especially surprised to see Five. “I... yeah she wasn’t at home when I called her... I wanted to talk about last night.” He said. Five glared suspiciously at him.

“You just missed her actually...” Klaus was about to explain where Vanya was when Five stopped him.

“I want to know who you are before you learn anything about my sister” Five said, giving his best I-will-kill-you smile.

“Oh this is Vanya’s boyfriend Leonard. I went on a double date with him and Vanya last night, but I don’t really remember much else. It has been a long few hours and I think the 6 shots of espresso are getting to me.”

“You accused me of murder.” Leonard added angrily.

“Oh yeah Harold Jenkins dad. What a dick” Klaus continued nonchalantly.

Five watched the entire interaction carefully. A normal person wouldn’t have noticed anything suspicious about Leonard’s reaction, but Five hadn’t gotten as far as he had without becoming highly paranoid.  “Would you mind filling me in?” 

Five starred Leonard down. He didn’t seem eager to talk, but eventually he broke. “Vanya didn’t say you were back...” Five caught a hint of bitterness in his voice. 

“I didn’t know you read her book.  Or watched us living our adolescence.  You know we really don’t talk enough about that part. That part was fucked up, I mean people probably jerked off to those posters.” Klaus gestured to the air around him. Five and Leonard didn’t break eye contact to look at him.

“I care about her and what’s important to her.” Leonard said. Five nearly lost his cool, but managed to maintain it.

“Because you’re also powerless and boring?” Five wouldn’t normally say something like that about Vanya, but he knew that he could probably provoke Leonard into admitting something if he played his cards right.

“And everyone thought you were better than the others. Well I guess it will hurt her less when she finally realizes that she’s better off without you, better off where I can teach her the true extent of her powers. Better off making sure all of you are dead in the ground like dear old Dad. You think your little superhero outfit is going to protect you? That it makes you better than anybody else? Well I am going to make absolutely sure that the sister you thought was useless uses her powers to get everything I want done. Starting with you umbrella freaks.”

Leonard’s super villain monologue did manage to faze Five, but before he had to think of a come back, Klaus started talking. “Oh hey Vanya, how long have you been there, aren’t you supposed to be at rehearsal. Listen do you want a sip of this? I think I might need my stomach pumped if I finish it but it cost as much as like 5 normal drinks so I would feel bad about throwing it out... No? Well ok then, your loss.” 

Five and Leonard both turned. Vanya was standing next to Klaus. He casually drank his coffee while she stared back at them, both still and shaking.

“Vanya I can explain” said Leonard moving forward and placing his hands on her shoulders.

“get out” Vanya whispered.

“Huh? But Vanya” Leonard said, voice far too confidant.

“ GET OUT OF MY LIFE” Vanya screamed. Leonard was flung away from her, landing across the road.  He lay still for a second, then got up and limped away. Vanya deflated. Her eyes started to water.

Luther came up holding grocery bags. “I went and got ice cream, because you know, job well done! Mission complete. What happened?”

“Well lets just say we are going to need that ice cream.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's Leonard dealt with. I'm having some trouble filling in Day 3 so tell me what y'all want to see. Next chapter is still day 2 but look forward to a surprise!


	10. The Police Station, Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey you knows those papers I mentioned.... Yeah. So take this and enjoy and don't expect chapter 11 super soon. Still accepting suggestions for it though!

 

“We’re home” Allison said as she opened the door. The foyer was empty and there was no sound of footsteps.  She entered cautiously, Dave and Diego walking behind her. Then there was the sound of breaking glass from the living room. Allison ran towards it and flung open the door. 

It looked like a tornado had hit the room, or to be more accurate was in the process of hitting it. The glass display cases were thrown open, with various items either in the air or on the floor.  The furniture was all turned over except for one couch that was floating several feet above the ground. On the couch was Vanya, eating her cake and ice cream while crying. Klaus was standing near the couch, trying to comfort her or at least give her more cake. Luther was running around the room, desperately trying to contain the damage. Five was standing near the doorway, trying to look calm and collected and failing. 

“What happened?” Allison asked. She had absolutely no idea what was going on.

“Well Vanya has powers. And a stalker. We’ve dealt with one of those problems.” Five teleported beside them and explained.

“I knew there was something wrong with Leonard.” Allison said.

“Is that his name? Can I go stab him?” Diego asked. He really wanted to stab someone.

“That or Harold Jenkins” Five said. Allison handed him a piece of paper with Leonard’s address.  He left.

Allison ran up to the couch. “Vanya I’m so sorry. It’s going to be okay.”

“Allison?” Vanya sniffled.  The couch began to wobble. Luther managed to catch it before it fell and put it gently back into its place. “You were right about Leonard”

Allison sat down beside her and gently patted her shoulder. “ I don’t know what to say to make you feel better” 

“Can I try?” Dave asked, alerting the others in the room to his presence. Upon receiving a nod from Vanya he kneeled in front of her and placed a comforting hand on her knee. “I know how you feel right now. Like you were stupid to trust him and how you’re not sure if you can ever trust anyone again, even yourself.” Vanya nodded. “You’re going to be ok someday, even if that’s hard to believe, but you don’t have to be ok now. Now all you have to do is not join the army, because that’s what I did and I generally want my little sisters to do the opposite of what I do.”

Vanya gave a wobbly smile. “I’m older than you.”

“Sorry Vanya. I don’t make the rules. The Hargreeves can have you back after the wedding.” Allison tried to look offended but laughed despite herself.  Vanya’s smile got a little bigger. “Don’t think this gets you out of the groomsman suit though. Only two people get to look good at this wedding.”

Vanya laughed.  Dave stood up and stepped back smiling. Allison took the opportunity to hug her sister. Klaus threw himself onto the couch and joined the hug.  Five gave Dave an approving nod and teleported into the hug. Klaus looked over to Dave and silently invited him to join. Dave shrugged his shoulders and joined in. Luther just picked them all up in his arms and gave a squeeze before putting them down and the hug breaking apart. 

“Hey Klaus I just realized something” Dave said

“What is it Bae?”

“I’m going to learn the difference between really 2019 slang and the words you just made up”

“Awww that’s no fun.”

“I think it is actually going to be a very fetch experience.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Diego had really planned on stabbing Leonard. He had picked out a knife for it and everything. But he drove past Griddy’s on the way there and he thought of Patch and everything she had said to him and how his way had gotten her killed and how she would never get to tell him he was wrong again. He turned the car around and headed for the police station. 

“I want to make a report.” Diego slammed his hands down on detective Beeman’s desk.

“Diego what the...This really isn’t procedure but I guess it's better than finding you at a crime scene” Beeman seemed bewildered to see Diego. 

“There is some fucker stalking my sister, and as much as I want to put him in the grave, Patch would  have wanted me to put him in Jail, so I’m here. Doing this. His name is Leonard. Or Harold Jenkins. He’s an asshole” Diego really didn’t know what he was doing. 

“Patch wants you to call her, she’s been trying to reach you from the hospital all day.  She even called here to see if you had gotten arrested. If only there was a way to reach people no matter where they were” Beeman said. He was also unsure of how to successfully complete this interaction, but was as always living for the drama.

Diego recoiled in shock. He then remembered that he really didn’t know how to check a pulse. His methods usually didn’t leave room for doubt. “Eudora’s Alive?”

“Yeah. The doctors said it was a miracle. Now don’t go running off though, visiting hours are over and besides she asked after your brother, the one she saved. Said he had a beard and was just tortured.”

“I thought she was dead”

“I got that from the fact that you were shocked by her being alive...now which sister was it?”

“Vanya.”

“... Wait is she the one in the orchestra?” Diego nodded. “Shit their first chair just disappeared, this might be related. Thank you so much.”

“What do I do now?”

“Sit tight, we have it from here. And please don’t get yourself arrested, we may need you to testify and that looks bad.” Diego huffed, but went home happier than he had ever left the police station. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom. Surprise. I brought patch back because this is my city now. I'll adjust the tags when she shows up next chapter!


	11. The Hospital, Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The news is in: Patch is alive and Diego gets pegged. Also much needed Five and Vanya bonding

“Whyy are you taking me to the hospital? Hospitals are full of both drugs and dead people and I have been trying very hard to avoid those things these days” Klaus whined.

“Shut up. This is important.”  Diego parked the car and pulled Klaus through the security and up to the room.

Patch was sitting up in bed when they came in, her hospital gown covering up most of her injury. There were a few presents from well wishers, but the room was mostly empty.

“I can’t believe your as bad at checking a pulse as you are at checking your phone” She said affectionately. 

“Good to know the bullet didn’t hit your venom sacks” Diego responded, taking the chair beside her bed. The smiled at each other.

Klaus looked at the two of them and smirked. “Well Diego I didn’t know you had it in you” he teased.

“Had what in me?” Diego was honestly bewildered.

Klaus smiled devilishly. “Strap on”. 

Diego turned bright red. Klaus started laughing hysterically. “W-W-What? I I...”

“Diego gets peg-ged!Diego gets peg-ged” Klaus sing-songed in between peels of laughter. 

Eudora chuckled. “It’s nice to see you are in good spirits after everything that happened.” 

Klaus took another look at her. “OH that’s where I remember you from. Don’t get to offended though I time traveled for like a year between when we met and now so my memory isn’t the best.” He kneeled beside the bed and took her hand in his. “Thank you sooo much for saving my life. And thank you soooo much more for fucking my brother. God knows he needs it.”

“Can you unsave his life?” Diego asked. He then took a second and fully comprehended what had been said. “Wait what the fuck happened.”

Eudora explained, with Klaus occasionally offering “helpful” intersections. Diego just listened, horror dawning upon his face.

“Well I am almost certain that things are going to get real so I’m going to bounce. I’ll see you at the car” Klaus said, leaving Eudora and Diego alone.

“You nearly died. You got shot and fuck this is my fault” Diego said.

“How is this your fault? I very much remember you not being there.” Eudora jibed

“I told you to do things my way. No forms, no backup, no rules and look what it got you.”

“Results?”

“N-N-nearly dead. I c-c-co-could have lost both of you and those freaks are still out there and could come back for you”

Eudora looked Diego in the eyes. She didn’t say anything but he still heard her:  _ Do you think that doesn’t apply to you?  _ Diego looked back at her, an uncommon softness on his face. “It’s addictive though, the idea of making the world better without any consequences or restraints.” she said aloud

“But it only fixes the symptoms, not the problems, and in the end you still get fucked.” Diego responded.

“Maybe there’s another way.” Eudora offered.

Diego smiled at her “Am I allowed to investigate that mystery detective?” 

“Oh call me Eudora” she said, there was no point in maintaining the pretense now.

“Eudora” he whispered reverently.

They took each others hands and stared into each others eyes for an eternity that was far too short. 

“SIR! SIR WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO ASK YOU TO PUT THAT DOWN” came the voice of a nurse running down the hall.

Diego looked out. “There’s like an 80 percent chance that is Klaus. I’ll intervene.” He got up and walked to the door. “M-my sister has an concert tomorrow. There are some free tickets so if you would like to see an world class orchestra I could fit you in”

“Diego Hargreeves are you asking me out?”

* * *

 

Allison and Five had insisted that Vanya stay at the academy while Leonard was still on the loose and while she could argue with either of them, the unified front wasn’t worth challenging. The night before had been almost surreal, with the family gathering for an actually uneventful dinner (which was honestly an event for the Hargreeves household). It was both reminding her of her childhood and nothing like it at all. 

What was very like her childhood was the fact that she was standing in her room, practicing her violin when a blue light flashed and Five appeared on her bed.  She gave him a quick nod of recognition and continued to play. Moments like this had been one of the highlights of her childhood, just two people who cared about each other calmly sharing a space and needing nothing more than the others company. 

Once she felt she had that part of the song down, she put her violin down and turned to Five. He smiled at her, far more genuine than any other he had given that week (or to be honest in years). “Vanya I would like you to meet Dolores” He said, gesturing to the mannequin he was holding. 

Vanya looked at them. “Is she...?” She asked, unsure of how to end the sentence.

“Yes, we’re together. We were planning on attending your concert and then parting ways. We already spent  the coming decades together, no need to repeat them” Five sounded almost unsure. Vanya had never heard him like that, so she knew this must be very important to him.

“It’s very nice to meet you Dolores.” She decided on. “I hope you enjoy the concert. Any friend of Fives is a friend of mine.

Five let out a sigh of relief, then sat silently for a few moments. Vanya was just about to speak when Five looked up at her. “I never found you.”

“What do you mean?”

“The others...They died together...and I could bury them. Give them graves and headstones and closure... but for you there was nothing. I learned about Ben from the book but there was nothing about you. I sometimes wondered if you were still out there or if something worse had happened but...but I never found you.”

“You found me now”

The was a flash of light and Five was hugging Vanya. She wrapped her arms around him in return and pretended not to notice the wet spots forming where he was resting his head against her. They didn’t say anything. They never needed to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back in my groove so updates should be faster. Second to last chance for suggestions.


	12. The Will Reading, Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took forever, the second part just kept evading me. We're heading for the ending now, with probably only one or more chapters before the end (and then most likely epilogues) but if you have anyhting you are dying to see let me know! 
> 
> P.S. Homestuck reference counter: 2

Pogo had elected to do a summary rather than a full will reading. If the apocalypse had truly been averted (as he deeply hoped it was) and that the master's plan was not achieving its intended results (as it clearly wasn’t) and the children were unlikely to just fall immediately back into their habits (as he desperately believed they wouldn’t) there was no need to keep the children from their inheritance. He also knew that he could only keep their attention for a few minutes so he would have to make things quick. They had gathered at the bar, which had become the unofficial gathering place for the family. Reginald would have held the meeting elsewhere, but Reginald was gone now and even Pogo could admit that upholding all of his tenants was not for the best.

He surveyed the children. The room seemed to be overall in a good mood, something that had been unfortunately rare in the Hargreeves household. Grace was tidying up, either off in her own world or listening in on something Reginald wouldn’t have wanted her to. Pogo never knew with her, partially because he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Luther was standing awkwardly, clearly waiting for him to begin.  Diego was leaning up against a pillar, as far from Luther as he could be while still being part of the group. Hopefully there wouldn’t be another altercation, Reginald had spent far more on the decor of this room than Ben’s statue and it would likely ruin the uneasy peace of the past few days. Allison sat near Luther. She was the most successful, the one with the least reason to be here, but here she was. Klaus sat in a different chair, his lover sitting near him. Pogo hadn’t interacted much with the young man, and judging by the gestures he was making he wasn’t clear on the situation either. But he made Klaus happy. Five was looking at his portrait, a living time capsule of what had been lost. Pogo assumed he would join the group when he began speaking, but Five had a way of subverting expectations.  Pogo wondered what Ben being here would have changed, if perhaps preventing what had happened to him would prevent what had happened to the others, but it was never good to dwell on the hypotheticals. Finally there was poor Vanya. She sat for once in the center of things, on the couch that faced the bar. He knew there would be no apologizing for what was done for her, but he hoped that they would be able to stop wounding her and that perhaps one day she could heal. Perhaps one day they all will.

“I will spare you all the legal details. Reginald was a precise man, but never had need for pointless complication. “ He began. The children (aside from Luther) rolled their eyes but turned to him. “Your inheritance has been placed into trusts. Reginald stated that you would be able to access those trusts so long as you” he looked down at the paper he was holding to indicate he was quoting directly “continued to refine your abilities and use your powers for the good of the world.” He lowered the paper. The children’s expressions varied: anger, eye rolling, confusion and worst of all, resignation. “We all know what Reginald meant.” He said, receiving nods from the children. He took a large breath and steadied himself for his first real act of rebellion “but there is no compulsion to interpret that way. You all do have a unique power, but you have others as well. Kindness is a power, Love is a power, Simply showing up for someone that needs you is a power that certainly makes the world better.  Your abilities are far greater as well, and there may be many paths to developing yourselves and I look forward to seeing which ones you take.”

The children all seemed shocked. Klaus recovered himself first and broke out into a huge grin. “We’re in the money Davey! I was so worried I was going to have to get a job.” Pogo fixed him with a look of stern fatherly disappointment. “...That didn’t allow me to help people while I got my G.E.D” he added. Pogo nodded with approval. Klaus’s lover offered him a hand and they left the room.

“Well that’s settled then. I’ll see when they’re holding the SAT.” Five said before teleporting away.

Soon enough it was just Luther and Pogo left in the room. Luther seemed out of place, a seeming that had lasted since his siblings left but seemed even more pronounced now.  Pogo probably knew him best of all of them, so knew this would hit him especially hard.

“Reginald made no provisions about returning you to the moon. Your life is your own now”

“But what do I...”

“I’ve heard travel broadens the mind.” Pogo interrupted to spare Luther the pain of asking. “And that an open minded is one of the greatest things a young man can have.”

He placed a hand on Luther's knee (about as high as he could reach). He wished he could say something that would help him farther, that would make sure that even if his mission hadn’t really mattered he certainly did and that he would have a lot of learning and unlearning to do if he wanted to make it on his own.  “I imagine you have grown very used to the broad contours of earth, but there is something important in the small things to. In the human element, and in what isn’t immediately apparent.” He knew Luther likely wouldn’t grasp the metaphor, but it was the best he could do.”

“I...I’ll look up destinations. You know you can’t actually see the Great Wall of China from space.” Luther said, more energized than Pogo had seen him since Reginald died.

“Well then one must see it from Earth.”

* * *

 

Allison caught Vanya as she was heading out from the meeting.“Hey I just wanted to check in. Sorry again about how everything went down.”

“If you keep saying that people will mistake you for me.” Vanya joked back. It was surprising how much her confidence had grown over the past few days.

“Listen I was wondering if you wanted to go shopping, get something new for your concert.”

“I would love to, but I still have to practice and I actually really like the suit I have, but thank you so much for...” Vanya was interrupted by sounds of crashing come down the stairs. Klaus entered in a way that may have seemed cool to those who had not met him but just caused his sisters to roll their eyes

“Did someone say shopping?” He said. Vanya smiled and left the two of them alone. Allison considered for a second. Well she had bonded with her other siblings, she might as well take on her most complicated relationship. Well tied for most complicated but for a very different reason. She rolled her eyes but indicated that Klaus could come along. He jumped up and clapped his hand with glee. “Excellent! It’s been forever since I had access to real fashion”

They walked out to the car in companionable silence. Awkward wasn’t the right word for their relationship, but there really wasn’t a right word. They had been close growing up, the only two interested in things like makeup and fashion and boys, but something had changed when they got older.  It wasn’t a dramatic breakup, a fight or even an argument that could pinpoint when they stopped being close, just a strain that produce a gap that grew and grew until it was a chasm neither thought to cross. So even though they had probably the largest group of shared interests they spent very little time together and even a short private conversation seemed out of reach. Allison wondered what her therapist would say, as following her therapists advice had been weirdly helpful when it came to dealing with her family.

“I guess now is the time for the whole Vietnam story” She tried.

Klaus smiled and launched into a tale of heaven and hell, love and death, his own fantastic antics and perhaps a little bit about the Vietnam war where it seemed relevant.

“That really does add needed context” Allison said when it was clear he was running out of material. “But considering that it took us through all of that traffic maybe it was best to wait until I had time to hear it.

“There is always time for art Allison” Klaus said.

The mall was for plebeians. Fashion amateurs. They had driven to the cool part of the city where one could find boutiques. Not the kind of boutiques Allison visited in Hollywood, but the kind that most guaranteed a good time. Klaus had already spotted a window and made a beeline for it. Allison followed.

“It’s absolutely hideous.” he said adoringly. “Should I?”

“Do you have money now?” Allison asked. Klaus shook his head. “Then I will buy you one outfit.”

“Accessories included?”

“Will I get to accessorize for your wedding”

“You drive a hard bargain. 2 accessories and you can get the suit tailored.”

“Tailored and I get my standard hair and makeup team”

“Deal”

Allison hadn’t had this much fun shopping in years. They made a little game of picking what they thought was the ugliest thing in the store and attempting to coordinate something to go with them.  It turned out Klaus was actually better at it than she was, partially because she had gotten used to not getting to pick her own outfits, and partially because she had a tendency to burst out laughing at the absurdity of Klaus’s looks.  She could see the owners glaring at them, but thankfully she was famous so as soon as she turned in their directions they got all smiley, as almost everyone did when faced with celebrity. Of course there were downsides too, and she highly doubted that her agent would be pleased by how Klaus treated the paparazzi that had made the mistake of talking to them, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care.

The downfall of her good mood was, as usual, thinking about Claire.  Klaus had picked up a tutu (who knew they made them in adult sizes) and Allison realized how many princess tea parties she would miss and how she really should have treasured Barney even if he made her want to break the TV and so many other things.

“Hey Allison!” Klaus interrupted her spiral. He was holding up a dress that was clearly made of re-purposed Umbrella Academy merchandise (you really could find anything in a thrift store) “Do you think that Trauma Collage would be a good look on me?”

Allison just smiled.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I nearly cried writing the first part of this chapter. The second part was also emotional, but that emotion was frustration. I wish there was more of Allison and Klaus I could have worked with.


	13. Before the concert, Day 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE DAWN OF THE FINAL DAY: TWO CHAPTERS REMAIN

April 1st 2019 did start with Vanya feeling like she saw her younger self. However it wasn’t in the glass of the terrible room downstairs, but in the mirror of her room as she looked back on how much things had changed in a week. She didn’t really think there was anyone in the room but her, but couldn’t help but picture what her younger self would have thought of her now. There was no more Reginald! She had powers! Her siblings seemed to like her! She was first chair violin!  The only downside was that Grace had made oatmeal for breakfast, and she hated oatmeal. She still went downstairs, more for the company than anything. The family had gathered around the breakfast table. They were in their usual spots, but almost everything else was different. Luther had several marked up maps and travel books in front of him. He gave Vanya a nod as she passed, the kind of acknowledgement that would seem cursory to anyone else, but between number one and number seven was revolutionary. Diego was helping Grace put the food down.

“I’m bringing a plus one” He told Vanya, not bothering to ask for an extra ticket. Klaus whistled. 

“I’ll tell the theater that. I have an extra anyway.” She responded. Leonard was not only not invited, security had been specifically warned to stop him. Diego nodded gruffly. She smiled.

“Hey Vanya, how formal is this event? Are we talking Gala formal, cocktail party? Business casual?” Allison asked as Vanya came near her. Vanya actually didn’t know so she just shrugged. A button up and jeans had been fine for the concerts she went to in college and she didn’t exactly have symphony money to throw around these days. 

Klaus responded instead “Well I’m wearing my SECOND BEST” he glared at Vanya “Shirt and my dress leathers. So work around that. Also will there be those little cheese squares? I’m a slut for cubic food.”

“You're just a slut in general” Ben snarked, to Klaus alone as always. Klaus gave him a look. 

“They don’t even feed us” Vanya responded. Klaus would have to do more than that to phase her.

Five was also reading, but pulled Vanya’s chair out for her when she went to sit down. She noted that his oatmeal was full of mini-marshmallows.  She looked down the table. Dave was sitting where Ben used to, and she wondered what Ben would think of that. Klaus caught her staring. “Ben said it was okay.” He said. Vanya wondered if Klaus could really see Ben. On one hand she knew he had taken every measure to get rid of his powers, had refused to summon anyone even before Ben died, had not passed on any of the messages they had asked him to. On the other hand she doubted that Ben would leave Klaus and everyone alone if given any option not to, and those who...died the way Ben died were those who tended to leave ghosts as far as she knew. She figured she might as well believe him. Hope had been working out for her lately. 

“A special meal for our special girl!” Grace said as she placed a plate in front of Vanya. It wasn’t Vanya’s hated oatmeal, but the french toast she had always enjoyed but almost never got. “Now this isn’t as filling as the oatmeal, so make sure to have a big lunch! We don’t want you fainting during your big concert” Vanya looked up at Grace’s smile and even though Grace was probably just a machine of her fathers, she swore there was love there.

“T-Thanks Mom” She said, voice wobbling. Grace just smoothed one of her stray hairs and went on serving. 

* * *

 

On April 1st 2019, the Umbrella Academy was shaken by the sound of shattering glass. This shaking though was more metaphorical and the glass was just a few bottles.  Dave had offered to escort Vanya back to her apartment and had received a dismissive snort from Five. He responded by finding one of Reginald’s guns out and managing to shoot through the stem of a far away wine glass.

“I was the best marksman in the 173rd. I can handle myself against some middle aged carpenter.”  Dave smirked. This initiated an impromptu marksmanship contest that Five won far less handily than he was expecting and made Grace’s job for the day a bit more difficult.  Dave gathered up his stuff and theatrically offered Vanya his arm. 

“Ok, unlike Klaus, I know how to drive, but what the fuck is going on with this gear shift” Dave said once they got to the car.

“It’s an automatic?” Vanya was confused.

“What’s an automatic?.. Wait stupid question, it shifts automatically right?” He said, Vanya nodded. “That would explain the lack of a clutch...” Somehow Dave still managed to start the car and leave the academy successfully. 

“How have you never heard of an automatic car?” Vanya asked as soon as they were on the road.

“They didn’t have them in 1968.”

“Huh?”

“Did that not come up with you? It’s so hard to keep track of who knows what.”

“I... don’t know. I really know barely anything about you.”

“Honestly I don’t really like to talk that much about myself”

“They say opposites attract.” Vanya said. Dave laughed. “But apparently I’m your sister now so...”

“Well what you get to know is that telling my sisters things didn’t work out so well for me the last time.” If there was one thing war taught it was how to make a statement that was both a joke of something that should never be laughed at.  But Vanya Hargreeves wasn’t a soldier, and despite all the sadness she had seen had seen and felt, she refused to let it be nothing. She placed a gentle arm around Dave’s shoulder and offered him silent comfort. “It’s in the past. Half a century chronologically, so there’s no point in dwelling on it. You don’t escape shit if you don’t move forward.”

Vanya didn’t move. She wasn’t exactly sure what to say or how to help, but she was here and could do what she could. She took her other arm and slowly turned on the radio. It was tuned to her standard oldies station (she never understood pop music and got enough of classical at work). 

“WE ARE FAM-IL-Y” immediately came blasting out the speakers, breaking all the tension in the car. Both Dave and Vanya started laughing. 

“I guess I have a lot of music to catch up on huh?” Dave asked.

“I know just where to start.” Vanya said, taking out the signed cd she had gotten in return for an advanced copy of her book. She wondered what would have happened if he had actually written comics instead of having a solo career, but as the lyrics of his cover began she focused just on what was happening. See what’s become of me indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has really been Vanya heavy. Not that she doesn't deserve it but it is notable.


	14. The Concert, Day 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait for a short chapter, but I have earned my check mark now. Thanks to everyone for following me through my first chapter fic and supporting me along the way!

On April 1st, 2019 Vanya Hargreeves was surprised by her family at the concert. She spent the first ten minutes staring sadly at the first chair’s reserved seats, thinking that perhaps hope hadn’t been a good idea and she would be alone again. The truth was that the ushers had taken one look at Luther and decided to send the Hargreeves up to an unsold box. This was probably for the best, as pretty much all of the Hargreeves were breaking either orchestra etiquette or explicit rules. Diego was carrying many, many knives ( he was not going to miss his chance to stab someone). Allison wasn’t making any effort to hide the fact that she was filming the concert to show Claire. Klaus and Dave were dressed to impress, if by impress one meant get kicked out by security. Finally Five had brought Delores who through appropriately dressed was not considered an appropriate date to ... anywhere honestly.  Only Eudora was dressed and behaving appropriately, though she did appreciate being away from the crowds with her injury. The box was meant to sit 15, but the Hargreeves still filled it, with Klaus alone taking up three seats (2 for himself and one he was saving for Ben.)

“I don’t think she sees us” Five said, looking through his binoculars down at the stage. He teleported down to where Vanya was looking and pointed up to the box. She startled a bit, then turned to where the family was sitting and on April 1st, 2019, Allison smiled and Vanya smiled back. 

The concert started a few minutes later.  Vanya raised her violin and began to play. She could feel her power running through her, but it wasn’t a destructive power, it wasn’t the power of anger, or of resentment or any of the other explosive emotions that knew nothing but how to hurt the world that had hurt her. It was a more subtle power, that came from hope and peace and the love that had somehow grown in the most unlikely of families. 

The song floated up through the concert hall. The art seemed a little prettier, and throughout the pillars small cracks found themselves mending. The audience too felt subtly fixed by the music, stress fading away and emotions feeling softer. People who had simply come as a group felt truly together, even if they had barely known each other before. The critics wondered how they could possibly convey this to their readers, but couldn’t find it in themselves to worry.

The music filled the box above the stage. Dave reached out and grasped Klaus’s hand, saying a thousand words with a single squeeze. Klaus offered his other hand to Ben, who took it and held tight. It would take them hours to realize what that meant, but there was no rush. Diego turned to Eudora and she turned to him. They both stood up to fill the seat they had left between them, and laughed when they realized they did. Eudora moved and Diego wrapped his arm around her.  Allison found herself thinking of Claire, and somehow, someway, she knew Claire was thinking of her too. She gave Luther a smile, which he returned. Regardless of what had happened between them, they were still family and being together after so long had been nice. Luther also thought of Grace and Pogo back home, and wondered if they could come to the next concert. For the first time in years Reginald was completely off his mind. Five smiled at Dolores. He would bring her back to the department store tomorrow, but for right now they could enjoy a beautiful finale to long life together. “It feels like the opposite of the apocalypse” he told her, and nodded lovingly at her response.

The music left the theater, quietly filling the streets of the city.  Most people didn’t notice it, but they did notice that they felt a little better. .  They called their parents, or started that project they had been putting off for a while. It overlapped with the happy birthday song for Kenny, who couldn’t think of a better way to turn thirteen. It reached the police station, where Detective Beeman began humming while he finished his work. It reached Leonard, who grumbled to himself in his cell. The ghost of Helen Cho faded away, content to know that her murderer was in jail and her chair in good hands.  

Grace hummed along as the music reached the Umbrella Academy. How skilled Vanya had gotten. She was so proud. She could see Pogo nodding his head as well, and when he met her eyes he smiled. “Perhaps it would be nice if we went out to the park tomorrow” She posed. 

“That would be lovely.” He responded, looking up at the moon which seemed just a tiny bit brighter. 

* * *

 

April 1st, 2019 ended with the Hargreeves leaving a disaster for somewhere they could do better. Of course the disaster was that Griddy’s was closed and their likely destination was another 24 hour breakfast place, but that was just one little difference.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *slams down title of the fic like touchdown football*


End file.
